This invention relates generally to a housing for a battery charger and more particularly to a battery charger housing having a lip in the front wall of the housing which enables the battery charger to accommodate batteries of different sizes and direct the different size batteries against the electrical charging contacts of the battery charger.
This invention is related in appearence to the design disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 390,999 filed on Aug. 9, 1989 in behalf of Albert L. Nagele, et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Portable electronic equipment traditionally employs rechargeable batteries and many varied designs of battery chargers have been developed to recharge the batteries. In many instances, the electrochemical cells which comprise the battery are housed or contained in an enclosure which provides protection and support for the electrochemical cells. For example, a detachable battery housing containing several electrochemical cells is employed in a portable cellular radiotelephone manufactured by Motorola, Inc. and having an appearance similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. D269,873 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The general appearance of the battery housing may be ascertained from the aforementioned design patent as that portion extending from the top to the bottom at the rear of the portable radiotelephone and visible in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.
Conventionally, battery chargers utilize one or more charging pockets or recesses to hold batteries. Typically, these chargers utilize vertical insertion of the battery to be charged in order that the battery be pressed against the electrical contacts within the charging pocket of the charger by the force of gravity. In those instances where the battery inserted at an angle from vertical or is horizontally inserted, only a single size battery may be accommodated or a more complex apparatus is used.